Hi incurable travelers, as I have already told you in the article Hotel Sonnenalpe Falkensteiner we stayed in Nassfeld / Pramollo ski area, 110 km of pistes served by 30 lifts, including ski lifts and modern chairlifts, some even heated, as well as a long cable car the Millennium Express which in just 17 minutes from Tröpolach, in the Gail valley, leads at Kofelplatz Madritsche, with a difference in height of 1309 meters and a length of about 7000 m divided into three sections representing the largest gondola lift in the entire Alpine arc. To get off you can re-use the gondola lift or enjoy a long skiing on the wonderful 7.6 km descent with the last illuminated 2.2 km, which make up the longest Alpine track, as you can guess we are in the “record” area of ​​the Nassfeld Skiarena. Snowboarders in funpark and freeride areas also find satisfaction, where they can perform amazing developments in the same fields where the junior world snowboard championship is hosted. Do not miss the fun even for fans of cross-country skiing, with tracks that reach 80 km in length with various levels of difficulty, or for snowshoe lovers who thanks to the various trails for winter hiking can enjoy the whitewashed landscape. Children can go bobsled or sled on the five dedicated slopes, three of which are illuminated, on the 55 hectares of the frozen natural surface of Lake PresseggerSee. Lovers can experience romantic moments during fairy-tale horse-drawn sleigh rides. The most magical moment to stay in Nassfeld is certainly winter with the landscape dominated by the whiteness of the snow and dotted with the thousand lights that decorate the buildings, but has a certain charm even in summer, despite being known for being a rainy place, sunny days allow thanks to some facilities open during the summer to plan excursions suitable for both beginners and the more adventurous. For the little ones, there are also numerous attractions such as the “Pendolino” summer toboggan run with the longest Carinthian slope or the numerous playgrounds such as NTC Outdoor Park with the rock labyrinth; archery; Geopark, where you discover nature by playing; “In the realm of the witch by the lake” theme park at Lake Pressegger See; Alpine park “Almrausch” and others. After trying the various winter or summer activities, all you have to do is sit down at a table or in a restaurant and taste the excellent speck or the typical cheese from the Gail valley, accompanied by a good mug of beer. To the next destinationinguaribile.viaggiatore(at)yahoo.it

Some photographs of Nassfeld – Austria

Hi Incurable Travelers, finally the longed-for moment of the white week has arrived for us too!

This year we have chosen to identify a week in March for our skiing holiday, to enjoy longer and sunny days to be spent on the slopes of the area of Pramollo / Nassfeld.

The decision to leave the Dolomites in favor of the Carinthian mountains was born from the desire to experiment with new landscapes and also the desire to stay in a Falkensteiner structure again, after the positive experience of staying at the Family Hotel Falkensteiner Lido Ehrenburgerhof.

The hotel Sonnenalpe is a beautiful property directly on the ski slopes in Hermagor in Carinthia, but above all it is the ideal place to spend a week of family vacation thanks to the numerous attentions dedicated to children and the large space for relaxation for parents .

After a trip, for us only two and a half hours, accompanied by a weak snowfall we arrived in Nassfeld through the Pramollo pass and I must say that the experience was not positive, so much so that on the return we preferred to extend the journey by half oretta and come back passing the Tarvisio. The roads on the Austrian side of the area are very clean and completely feasible, not the same for the traits of Friuli competence.

Once we arrived we entered our room, a superior family, and the expression of pure enthusiasm that had the face of my son of three and a half years was an injection of vitality for us too. He found himself in front of a room designed to stay with the children, where everything is made to measure, like the double sink, the beds laid on a wooden platform that makes the sleeping area well separated from that day with the possibility to obscure only the single bed for the afternoon rest of the little ones keeping the rest of the room accessible. Accomplice age for him everything was a discovery, the sliding doors of the large closet, so capacious that it became his favorite hideaway, the huge sofa was a perfect ship of the pirates, but the real surprise is the blow of lightning that he had for the single bed where he stood a pillow with an applied sheep and that he decided to be his despite never having slept before in such a big bed!

We needed a holiday with slow rhythms and so our stay was full of tranquility, but also and above all the fun of our little man.

The landscape was covered by a high snowpack, certainly a meter and a half was reached without problems, and even the hotel garden has become the scene of countless descents with the bobsleigh or laps on the slide with a plunge end in the fresh snow .

Skiers can wear skis outside the door of the Falkensteiner Hotel Sonnenalpe Nassfeld and descend along a connecting slope leading to the ski lifts to descend along the many long, sun-kissed slopes until late afternoon.

Once back wet but happy by the games on the snow you can enjoy lunch and / or dinner in the spacious dining room also equipped to meet the needs of children thanks to plastic cups and saucers and tasty menus dedicated to them.

In the late afternoon when it was not possible to stay outdoors, the little one of the house chose to continue the games at the Falky Almland together with other children. The Falky Almland is really the country of toys thanks to a series of wooden houses that reconstruct a fairytale world and the many games available, as well as an animation program that does not allow any child to get bored.

It is open from eight in the morning until eight in the evening and allows those who want to take advantage also of having the children eat with the staff for both lunch and dinner.

As long as the little ones are busy playing, mom and dad can enjoy wonderful hours of relaxation in the large spa that in addition to having a Turkish bath, whirlpool, Kneipp path and different types of saunas has many areas dedicated to relaxation where you can rest between one treatment and another with a hot cup of tea. If you are a lover of body care there is the possibility of booking a selection of different beauty treatments and for the more sporty there is a large and well equipped gym. Of course, the pool could not be missing, as well as a comfortable indoor area also directly connected an outdoor part open even in winter where you can experience the thrill of a bath surrounded by the whitewashed landscape.

A very positive aspect, and I say this as a parent, is that the wellness area, with the exclusion of the pool, is forbidden for children under 16 years, except from 12 to 15, when it is also accessible with their children.

The helpfulness and kindness of the staff at the Falkensteiner Hotel Sonnenalpe Nassfeld helped to make our stay even more enjoyable and I think we will return with good weather to experience new experiences in the green of the Carinthian mountains.

With all the services offered by the Falkensteiner Hotel Sonnenalpe you never want to leave the hotel, instead we invite you to discover what to do in Nassfeld in winter. p>

SOME PHOTOGRAPHS OF FALKENSTEINER HOTEL SONNENALPE NASSFELD

Dear endless travelers, as you know, you do not discover a whole country unless you taste the typical dishes. Here is the food part of my tour in Romania, in the Covasna region.

The first thing I tasted when I got to the hotel was the palinka, the traditional alcoholic beverage in the country. This type of brandy is mainly distilled from plums, but also from cherries, pears and apples. The taste is very strong and not suitable for everyone. The Romans drink it at all times of the day, perhaps accompanied by a slice of crispbread bread and crunchy bacon, as they were sampled by the blacksmith on the first day.

Going to food, Romania’s most famous dish is the goulash. The recipe has medieval origins and comes from Hungary. Goulash is a soup prepared with beef, onions, peppers, paprika, laurel, white wine and vinegar. We tasted one that has been prepared as for the tradition, then cooked in a cauldron on fire, outdoors, and shot for many hours with a large wooden spoon. We were supposed to taste it just around the fire, but the evening air was too cold, so we went to the dining room at Daniel Castle Hotel.

Moving to the soups, in Romania they are the first course of every meal, a bit like the pasta for us Italians. They prepare it simple with vegetables or accompanied by pieces of meat. Another way to enjoy their soup is also the broth with pieces of meat, vegetables and spaghetti, as we tasted at the Invino restaurant.

But the dish I loved the most was the chimney cake. We were also at the festival dedicated to this sweet. On that occasion, three chefs decreed the sweetest of the different stalls they were racing. This typical cake is cooked on a cylindrical skew that slowly rotates on the fire. The dough is very simple: flour, milk, butter, sugar, eggs and yeast. It has to be worked many hours, as if it were pizza and then let it rise. The peculiarity, however, lies in the tool used for cooking. A kind of roller coaster sprinkled with cane sugar, which creates so good and crisp icing when the sweet is ready. The Chimney Cake can be simple or filled with chocolate. Really very good! Article translated from Italian by Melania Guarda Ceccoliinfo@inguaribileviaggiatore.it

The tour of the Covasna region in Romania continues. We arrived on the third day and it is time to leave the Daniel Castle Hotel and head to an enchanted forest. But before we reach tar trees and bears, we expect a city stop, Saint George with Szekler National Museum. The Székely National Museum is open to the public since 1875. It is currently the largest Hungarian public collection outside of Hungary and is also one of the most important tourist attractions in the county of Kovászna and Székelyföld. The complex includes a library, departments for natural science, archaeology, history and ethnography. The permanent archaeological exposition has 35,000 years of culture with material from this area. The Ethnographic Department is famous for its unique collection in Transylvania that counts more than 15,000 pieces. Here you will find carved furniture and antique paintings with a remarkable collection of traditional children’s toys. You can also see typical rooms like the kitchen where there was a bed that was not used to sleep, but to show the wealth of the family according to the number of mattresses. The dining room’s typical chairs, on the other hand, had the ability to move the backrest to tell if the family was at a time of disagreement or peace. Continuing in the visit you can also notice a typical Protestant baptismal scene with an egg cradle inside which you see an egg and a penny. These two elements were a good wish for the unborn child. At the end of the visit we moved to the city center to visit the Chimney Cake festival, typical of Transylvania’s sweet. After a great lunch at the Winestudio Indovino we went into the forest. Here we have been guests of a beautiful hotel, the Balvanyos Resort, a huge green property with a beautiful wellness center. 110 rooms all with spectacular mountain views. The rooms are very large and comfortable with balcony. There are then 3 restaurants to choose different menus. But the unique element of this resort is the Grand Santerra Spa, a 2000 sqm relaxing oasis between indoor and outdoor sauna, steam bath, whirlpool and swimming pool. For the most intrepid then there is also the Balvanyos Adventure Park, with different difficulties depending on age. If you want to see the beloved bears, then just outside the hotel a tower is waiting for you to see these enormous animals from above. Really a unique experience!

After sleeping in the comfort and luxury of the Castle Hotel Daniel in Talisoara and after a great international breakfast, the second day of tour of the Covasna region begins. We went upstairs to Daniel Castle in Varghis, the most important building in the country. The castle features Renaissance, Baroque and Classical features. Inside there are no objects, but you can see some traits that characterize the manor. In a wall you can see a small wardrobe that served as a hiding place for letters and documents, with the same decorative features that still use the painters we had visited the day before. Other characteristic features are many carved stone bas-reliefs and family emblems, to remember the important events. Outside there is a beautiful garden and we were lucky to discover horses eating and drinking along the brook. Our day went on with another castle, the Kalnoky Castle in Miclosoara. Inside there is the museum of life in Transylvania. The rooms recall the different historical periods through paintings and objects of the time. In the women’s room you can see perfume bottles, all you need for a home drugstore and floral ornaments. But downstairs, in the kitchens, we were expecting a surprise. In fact we participated in a program to create felt flowers. It was fun to see bloggers coming from all over the world sit at a table and put their hands in soap to give birth to a fake tulip! The lunch time came so we moved to the Conte Kalnoky Guesthouse. Yes, because here is still the count that actively participates in the life of the country and in these buildings you can spend a few days discovering the beauty of these places. The buildings have been carefully restored to preserve their charm and original character. The cottages are located within spacious gardens, furnished with antiques. The rooms are exclusively equipped with antique furnishings including most fabrics. Sitting around the table we also had the opportunity to know the Count, who told us about the problems of Covasna, future plans and hope that we can improve the tourism of this beautiful country. He would like to improve infrastructures, roads, schools for children. Those who come here are just looking for a vacation in nature, timeless, without the stress of city life. The inhabitants are happy to see new people, strangers interested in their land and their customs. A really special encounter with a very helpful person. But the day was not over yet. Welcoming the Count we left for an afternoon in nature in the gorges of Vargyas. 4 km of path with 125 caves. The most famous cave is Orban Balázs that we managed to reach after 1 km of walk between bridges and stairs. A truly unique landscape, but you can only see it under the supervision of a local guide. In fact, there are caves that cannot be visited because still inhabited by some animal like the bear, a possible friend during your walk. Returning to the hotel there was a surprise waiting for us. The organizers had called professional gingerbread decorators. Yes, those biscuits that make so much Christmas, but here are really a must. We have thus become a veritable pastry with green, red and white sugar cream to decorate flowers and hearts. A technique that is handed down from generation to generation. We found out that between cooking and decorating the biscuit takes two days. Hours and hours of excitement and attention to write a love phrase or to recreate the favorite design of a child. And now everyone is ready for dinner. Tired for the thousand adventures of the day. The story of the journey in Covasna continues in the article: Szekler national museum Article translated from Italian by Melania Guarda Ceccoliinfo@inguaribileviaggiatore.it